Putnam 911 Says Language Interpreting Services Aid In Emergency Response

Putnam County 911’s language interpreting services are an irreplaceable tool for emergency responders.

That’s according to Assistant Director Brandon Smith. Smith said that their service agreement with LanguageLine Solutions allows for responders to communicate more efficiently with those who don’t use English as their first language.

“We’ve had several incidents where we’ve been able to resolve emergencies in a matter of minutes,” Smith said. “Over the telephone with the interpreter on the line that otherwise would’ve taken up quite a bit of time and a lot more resources. But being able to find out what the emergency was and getting the right resources allocated has been tremendous for us.”

Smith said that it’s a service they frequently use and one that benefits local agencies as well. He said that the interpreter gets transferred with the call to local agencies, but that it can limit their ability to use it in the field.

Smith said that the service comes with several languages and has been key for saving more lives.

“A system like this is irreplaceable for us when dealing with the public in an emergency,” Smith said. “There are a lot of things that don’t translate literally from some languages to English and from English to other languages. So being able to understand what the caller is trying to ell us or what the person who is having the emergency is trying to tell us is essential for us cutting down on the time it takes to get them the help that they need.”